Golf club performance is an amalgam of many elements including a golf club's ability to efficiently transfer energy to a hit golf ball, ability to impart desirable spin characteristics to a ball, ability to generate feedback to a golfer responsive to a particular manner of impact, e.g. to impart “feel,” and ability to enable a golfer to exercise a wide array of shot types. In addition to this, what constitutes effective performance varies with the role of each club. An often overlooked aspect of performance, but considered of increased significance with higher-lofted clubs, is shot dispersion, i.e. the degree to which a set of golf shots (impacted with a particular club) fall within a desired distance from a target location. As the golfer nears the green, carry distance wanes in importance as precision increases in importance.
This principle particularly holds true in the case of wedge-type golf club heads. However, attempts at designing wedge-type golf club heads have generally been inadequate as steps taken to reduce dispersion often adversely affect other attributes expected of or desirable of wedge-type golf club heads. For example, traditional feel and design attributes necessary for instilling confidence in the golfer and for compliance with rules promulgated by one or more professional golf regulatory bodies (e.g. the United States Golf Association (USGA)) may be sacrificed. Also, attempts at decreasing dispersion often result in the relocation of club head mass in locations that adversely affect spin, trajectory shape, effective bounce, and/or ability to successfully carry out a full range of shot types typically associated with wedge-type club heads.